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Legal recreational marijuana in Florida is inevitable

The Florida Legislature legalized hemp products this year. Hemp and marijuana can smell and look the same. Melbourne Police Chief David Gillespie explains.

Florida Today

Brevard-Seminole County State Attorney Phil Archer sent out a memo in July warning law enforcement agencies that charging people with simple possession of marijuana has become a lot harder.

The legalization this year of hemp-derived products such as CBD has made distinguishing between hemp and marijuana a difficult and expensive task. Hemp may contain up to .3% of THC, the same substance found in marijuana, and both can look and smell the same. Roadside tests can confirm the presence of THC but not quantity.

“Distinguishing between hemp and cannabis by mere sight or smell is virtually impossible,” Archer wrote in the memo.